JACKSON – School administrators, educators and students celebrated the Elms Elementary School’s recognition of being a Green Ribbon School.
The school was the only one in the state to be nominated to receive the U.S. Department of Education’s national Green Ribbon Award. The national award has yet to be determined.
The organizations that collaborated to implement the Green Ribbon schools in New Jersey include the New Jersey Department of Education, New Jersey Audubon, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey School Boards Association and the New Jersey Association of School Administrators.
The organizations act as a committee to identify up to five schools in the state that the NJDOE will nominate to the US Department of Education to receive a Green Ribbon School Award. Nominees must show progress in each of three areas, reducing environmental impact and costs, improving the health and wellness of schools, students and staff and providing effective environmental and sustainability education.
The event kicked off with Green Team member and school speech therapist Jessica Fioretti leading school officials to the cafeteria where they sampled mint and basil water and blueberries grown as part of the program.
Students also enjoyed sampling those items that were distributed by members of the Parent Teacher Network. “The basil, mint and blueberries are grown in our own garden,” Fioretti said.
Elms second grade teacher Shaina Brenner showed the short video presentation to her students that summarized the many programs and projects of the school’s Green Team. Superintendent Nicole Pormilli, Director of Curriculum Theresa Licitra who previously served as a principal at Elms, Director of Buildings and Grounds Anthony Bruno, Energy Education Specialist John Blair, District Foreman of Custodians Jason Liebman and STEAM & Sustainable Schools Specialist John Henry from the New Jersey School Boards Association joined them in the classroom.
“It is time to celebrate; all our ideas and hard work has paid off,” Brenner said in the video that showed members of the school’s Green Team and students and the varied ways that the school earned the award.
There are solar panels on the school grounds. The building is heated and cooled by geothermal process eliminating the need for gas and fuel. In the courtyard is where the Elms learning garden can be found with water provided by rain barrels.
A sensory garden has plants “with different smells, tastes and textures. We also grow fruits and vegetables. Different educational activities are held out in our garden,” Brenner said.
“In the fall hundreds of trout eggs are brought to us and throughout the year our students care for the fish and help them with the eco system balance and in the spring, we release the trout into local streams,” the teacher added.
Brenner and her students were joined by their special guests then toured the aquaponics systems and took a “Learning Walk” through the school to review the many ways the school earned the award. They were joined by Elms Principal Michael Burgos, Vice Principal Shawn Levinson and Sheryl Konopack
Burgos said the same tour and related lessons were taking part during the day.
“Our aquaponics system is a self-contained ecosystem,” Brenner explained to those on the tour. “We have fish that we feed, plants that we grow and weed.” A water bottle refill station was credited for eliminating the need of hundreds of plastic water bottles and the teacher also spoke to students about the school’s food share program which provides food that would have been otherwise discarded to the Jackson Food Pantry, a township after school program, and a non-profit animal rescue organization.
“This year we rolled out a new exciting recycling initiative with new recycling bins in every single classroom and office. Every single hallway has a recycling container to ensure a seamless process for recycling,” Brenner added.
Brenner said, “the Green Team received a comprehensive presentation on recycling guidelines from the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste. Working together, the students, staff and custodians make sure that recycling is done the right way at Elms.”
Students assembled later for a group photo taken outside near the solar panel field overlooking directly across from a white-water tank and geothermal apparatus that serve as additional examples of the school’s ability to provide a clean, energy saving environment.
